Page 76 of Drive

“This is calm?” I said, afraid to look in the apartment.

“Extremely,” Ben said smoothly. “That’s why he plays with so much fucking heart.”

“Right.” I swallowed just as Lexi’sSUVcame into view, a small U-Haul hooked to the back of it.

“That’s Lexi,” I said with relief. She looked around the buildings, completely confused until I called her name and met her at the bottom of the stairs. A wicked grin covered her face as she ran toward me and squeezed the life out me.

“Jesus, I thought I would never get here!”

“I’ve missed you so much,” I said, a shake in my voice.

She pulled back and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Her budding concern was cut short when she spotted Ben over my shoulder at the top of the steps. I let out a breath of relief I didn’t know I’d been holding and demanded her attention as I clutched her to me. She felt like home and was a much-needed comfort at that moment.

She pulled back and gave me a wink. “Finally, right?”

“Hi,” she said as she gave Ben a quick once-over.

“Stranger. Welcome home,” he said with a nod. I looked between them and knew they were far more intimately acquainted than they were acting. They’d been talking or texting every day. Still, they played cool, and I couldn’t wait to see it unfold. A minute later, Reid burst through the front door and tapped Ben on the shoulder.

“A minute, man.”

I could see Ben’s apprehension as he followed him in and shut the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” Lexi asked as she looked me over.

“I don’t know.”

“You look scared,” she said as she stood back and surveyed me. She’d re-dyed the tips of her dark hair red and looked kissed by the sun. Beautiful in a light-blue sundress and tied leather sandals. Suddenly, it seemed like I’d spent an eternity without her. It was amazing what could happen in a few months.

Everything.Everythingcould happen in a few months.

Half an hour later, with Lexi and I covered in the afternoon heat, both Reid and Ben came through the door. Ben looked pissed, and Reid avoided all eye contact.

“Let’s get you moved, ladies,” Ben said, as he carried my duffle down the stairs.

My eyes drifted up to Reid. “Reid?”

His jaw ticked. “I’ll catch up.” He walked back inside and slammed the door.

“Don’t,” Ben warned as he pulled at my wrist.

“He’s not coming?”

Still trying to get past, he gripped me tight. “Listen, babe, you don’t need to—”

I pushed past him and pounded up the stairs and into the apartment to see Reid gripping his hair in the middle of his living room, our mattress pushed up against the wall.

“Reid.”

His bite was instant. “Can never fucking follow directions, can you?”

I ignored him because he didn’t mean it. Even with his desperate and angry fucking, I felt him with me. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”

Hazel eyes stared through me as I stood with my heart in my throat. A long, wordless exchange took place, and for a second, I saw the man I love come back, his eyes focused, his hesitance speaking volumes. And then I knew. “No.”

His voice was full of residual anger and defeat. “I have to.”